What Should I Do to Check If a Proposed Name For My Corporation Is Available?

You should check all of the following against a proposed corporate name.

You should do a multiple check on a proposed corporate name:

1. Secretary of State. Check with the Secretary of State of the state in which you plan to incorporate to make sure someone else doesn't already have the name or a name confusingly similar to it.
   
   
2. Trademark. Check with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office to see if someone already has a trademark similar to your proposed name. Check www.uspto.gov.
   
   
3. Web search. Do a Web search on your proposed name through Google or other search engines. If someone is using your proposed name, that may have some pre-existing rights.

Once you are sure the name you want for your corporation is available, you can reserve it in most states so it will be available when you are ready to incorporate. Read "Reserving a Corporate Name" for more information.

Get detailed information on this and other considerations for your start-up business by reading the AllBusiness.com "Step-by-Step Guide to Incorporating a Business."

Find tips on choosing the best business name for your new company at AllBusiness.com.

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